Cafe Madeline and Qathra, (Flatbush) Brooklyn

Here lies two open face breakfast sandwiches that presume sandwiches are meant to be eaten with a knife and fork. I am torn on this issue. Once a sandwich needs cutlery, it ceases to be a sandwich, but is cutlery absolutely necessary or simply etiquette?

First up, this guy from Cafe Madeline. That is not hollandaise sauce, that is melted cheese with a soft boiled egg. The egg was not runny.

The cutlery came in handy because the bread was so thick, but the plate was too big for what this is suppose to be. Not that I'm complaining about the bread. You can't see it, but the bread was the best part, mostly because the bread slice was as thick as the highest portion of ham, cheese, and egg combined. I'm not sure what kind of bread it was, but it had a great chewy density that could have been a plate unto itself.

Next we have this Croque Madame (but senselessly called a Croque Monsieur, egg extra) at Qathra. Much better plate to sandwich ratio and the salad is a nice touch. The cutlery came in much handier this time around as the eggs were perfectly runny and a little dabbing of meat and bread into the yolks is a luxury.

I followed etiquette and cut up my sandwiches in both places. Is this a breakfast sandwich trend to use cutlery? Both these places are really close to each other on Cortelyou Road, so maybe it's just a neighborhood rivalry. I love sandwiches because they are eaten without cutlery, but I don't not love these either.

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